June 26, 2025 • 46 mins
So, what does it take to win the rights to become Major League Soccer’s 30th team? And who would pay half a billion dollars to do it?!
In this episode, we explore the unlikely partnership behind SDFC: Right to Dream — a revolutionary global soccer group — and the Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation — the first Native American owners in men’s professional sports.
It’s a story that bridges cultures, spans 8,000 miles and 20,000 years, and came together to bring MLS to San Diego.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
It's a late afternoon in mid September twenty twenty four
eastern San Diego County. A flock of sparrow swooped low,
rippling wavelike over the sun baked foothills of the Dasa Valley.
A soft breeze whistles over the red rock and through
the desert brush. It's what gave the area its name,
(00:31):
Singing Hills.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
My name is Sharon Fan. I'm a tribal member from
the Sequan Band of the Commune Nation, and we are
currently sitting on the lands of the Singing Hills Golf Course,
which is part of our tribal territory.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
For over twenty years, Singing Hills has been home to Sequan's.
Speaker 3 (00:48):
World class fifty four whole golf course.
Speaker 1 (00:52):
The drive also owns a successful casino resort, luxurious downtown hotels,
and extensive waterfront commercial property. In just a few decades,
Sequon has come back from the brink of extinction to
become a multi million dollar economic powerhouse employing nearly four
thousand people.
Speaker 3 (01:12):
It's been a long journey.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
From what I understand, it's over twelve thousand years, but
they're still I mean that can be disputed, but I
may even go far as back as fifteen thousand. We
don't know. They're still finding artifacts, they're still learning and
educating about our past. So I don't think that'll ever stop.
I'm sure they'll find more stuff in the future and
be like, oh wow, they were here even further back
than that.
Speaker 1 (01:33):
In fact, the land sharing is standing on right next
to the golf course is the site of a prehistoric
Sequan settlement. Today it's also home to the Kumeyi Community College,
as well as a beautiful museum and cultural center. It's
a place that tribal councilman Jamie Lebrik felt in his
(01:55):
bones had to be preserved even while building for the future.
Speaker 4 (02:00):
So I went down and I parked my car, and
I was there by myself, and I opened up my doors,
and right away I could fill the presence of our
ancestors telling me this is the place that you need.
Speaker 5 (02:11):
To build your cultural center. This is the.
Speaker 4 (02:14):
Place, Jamie, go inside and look, so I did. I
could feel them, I could hear them.
Speaker 1 (02:20):
And Jamie wasn't the only one. Over the years, even
non tribal members have felt it.
Speaker 4 (02:26):
Before we owned the golf course, there was a Hispanic
lady or a lady of Mexican descent who lived right
below the grade there at certain times of the year,
and she would actually see a fire burning at the
base of the mountain. No one else saw it, but
only she saw it, and she could hear those songs
(02:48):
are bird songs.
Speaker 1 (02:57):
In January twenty twenty five, this sacred patch of Siquan
Tribal Territory will also become home to the San Diego
FC first team and the Right to Dream Academy, their
ambition to become the most advanced training facility and youth
development center in North America.
Speaker 2 (03:15):
I think it's amazing. I mean, what more beautiful place
can you find to have soccer fields be out here
in the open breeze, the beautiful mountains that protect the
whole valley. It's just meant to be played on.
Speaker 1 (03:28):
At the time of writing back in September twenty twenty four,
construction is already well underway. There's just four months to
go until they welcome their first players for preseason training.
But even now, the side of steel girders and cement
mixers is enough to make Sharon feel emotional sometimes.
Speaker 2 (03:50):
You know, I get a little choked up when I
drive over the hill into the valley, and the valley
just opens up and you could see the entire golf
course and then all of a sudden unveiled is the
Right to Dream Academy buildings that are are getting finished,
which I think should be finished by February. But that
opens up and you see that, and I get taken
back and I have to have a little tier lie
sometimes because you think, wow, my tribe did this, like
(04:10):
this is incredible.
Speaker 1 (04:14):
In February twenty twenty five, San Diego e FC became
the thirtieth team to enter Major League Soccer, now the
largest professional league on the planet. But this is more
than just another football club, at least that's the hope
of the club's co owners under the leadership of Sir
Mohammed Mansour.
Speaker 3 (04:31):
Right to Dream is.
Speaker 1 (04:32):
An organization promising to rock American soccer to its foundations
with a revolutionary approach to coaching and youth development. Anchoring
the project in the local community is the Sequan Band
of the Kumiga Nation, the first ever Native American owners
in men's professional sports, and as the only MLS club
(04:53):
officially sanctioned to recruit out of Mexico. I mean this
thing could really fly. That is, it is if everything
goes to plan. In this episode, we explore an unlikely
partnership spanning eight thousand miles and twenty thousand years that
came together in the nick of time to bring MLS
(05:14):
to San Diego. Like all fans, I want to know
more about the people running this thing, the owners, Who
are they, what do they want, and most important of all,
what sort of club are they building? Captured In the
final months before the twenty twenty five season kicks off,
this series follows sdfc's race to field their first ever team.
(05:34):
I'm Adrian, gotta say, I'm Markis and this is behind
the flow, the origin story of San Diego FC. So
how exactly do you win the right to join Major
League Soccer? And who'd be willing to part with the
record breaking half a billion dollars to do it? That's
(05:59):
before you add I had one hundred and twenty million
for a new training center and youth academy, and never
mind the cost of recruiting an entire playing squad from scratch.
Speaker 3 (06:10):
Before any of.
Speaker 1 (06:11):
That, SDFC is already the sixth most expensive deal in
world football history. These guys really mean business. Just look
who their first hire was. If you're looking at launch
a soccer dynasty in record time, there's only one man
to turn to, sports executive Tom Penn.
Speaker 6 (06:29):
Oh yeah, I always said this was a once in
a career opportunity at LAFC to build a club from scratch,
And then now I joke that it's kind of what
I do. I guess it wasn't that at all. It's
just sort of circumstance.
Speaker 1 (06:41):
Penn launched LAFC in twenty seventeen and that went pretty well.
Speaker 7 (06:47):
That's it LC champions again and for the first time,
go hun us upcoming. Look boost the blocket gold for
LAFC with this kick.
Speaker 1 (07:06):
It LAS one MS Cup twenty twenty two on penalties.
Within six years, they won an MLS Cup, two Supporter Shields,
and the US Open Cup, eventually being valued as the
league's first billion dollar franchise. So it's fair to say
(07:27):
Tom knows his way around. Before soccer, he was an
NBA executive and analyst for ESPN, But before that, he
cut his teeth in the courtroom six years as a
public defender, working major jury trials and making big calls
under pressure.
Speaker 6 (07:44):
Well criminal defense attorney work is pressure packed and quick
thinking and then articulating and selling. You know, you're always
in sort of persuasive mode. There's nothing like being on trial,
having to make like snap decisions under pressure that have
consequences and you have to react to what's happening.
Speaker 1 (08:05):
In twenty twenty, Penn felt it was time to leave
LA for new pastures. When he did, he became the
hottest free agent on the sports exec market.
Speaker 6 (08:15):
After leaving LAFC. Almost immediately, I was approached by an
investment bank or friend of mine who had his eyes
on San Diego as an opportunity to do something in
professional soccer. And that was right at the same time
that the ownership in Sacramento, who had been awarded an
expansion franchise in Sacramento, they.
Speaker 3 (08:37):
Folded, and that's how this whole thing started.
Speaker 2 (08:43):
That breaking news a new major obstacle for Sacramento's Major
League Soccer tonight, and expansion deal collapses with a key
investor backing out.
Speaker 8 (08:53):
Just hours ago, Ron Berkele told the league that he's
not moving forward with the acquisition of an mL LESS
expansion team in sacrament.
Speaker 9 (09:00):
The city was awarded an expansion team in October of
twenty nineteen and had been due to begin play in
twenty twenty two. The MLS says that it'll work with
Merrier Steinberg to evaluate possible next steps for MLS and Sacramento.
Speaker 1 (09:14):
In early twenty twenty one, Sacramento unexpectedly released their franchise
rights to join MLS, freeing up the final spot for
an expended thirty team league.
Speaker 3 (09:24):
The clock is now ticking.
Speaker 6 (09:27):
The lead investor in that pulled the plug. He said,
the building's too expensive, I'm out, We're not going to
do this. So that whole thing collapsed, which opened up
an opportunity.
Speaker 3 (09:37):
A golden opportunity, one.
Speaker 1 (09:39):
That the people of San Diego had been waiting three
decades for.
Speaker 6 (09:42):
Then what the leagues look for is a combination of
the market, the stadium, and the money. And I'm thinking
to myself, san Diego's the perfect market in dire need
of another men's professional team. Soccer is massive down here,
always been known as one of the top places for
player development, for engagement with people on TV, and San
(10:05):
Diego State University was building a stadium purpose designed for soccer,
so it was like ding ding ing.
Speaker 1 (10:12):
With a soccer crazy town and the thirty five thousand
seats Snapdragon Stadium now ready to go. Tom sends as
a home run or an open goal, whatever you get
the idea. First, he connects with the guy called Brad Termany.
Speaker 6 (10:28):
And Brad is a force of nature here in town.
Speaker 5 (10:32):
He's one of our partners.
Speaker 6 (10:34):
And is a real estate developer and a really gifted
deal maker, really gifted communicator. And he said, and I
will help do the work to try to see if
we can put something together in San Diego. The next conversation,
Brad introduced us to Cody Martinez, the chairman of Sequan.
Speaker 1 (11:05):
Sequan are one of the thirteen bands of the Kumeyai Nation,
the indigenous people who once roamed in their tens of
thousands on both sides of the US Mexico border. In fact,
they were here long before there was a border at all.
We're back at Singing Hills and the Sequan Cultural Center.
(11:27):
It's September twenty twenty four, and the tribe is gathering
to celebrate the autumn equinox and the start of the
Kumeyai New Year. In the distance, under the setting sun,
the pristine fairways of the golf course are bathed in
golden light, and beyond that under the shadows cast by
cranes and excavators, the SDFC Right to Dream Academy is
(11:50):
taking shape.
Speaker 10 (11:51):
My name is Cody Martinez. I am the chairman of
the Saquan Band of the Kuma Nation. I'm very proud
of the tribe and how far we have come. The
feeling is awesome and it's surreal at times. For Sequan
to be the first tribe to have a ownership stake
in professional men's sports, It's an amazing accomplishment and I'm
(12:11):
very proud of it.
Speaker 1 (12:12):
Chairman Cody Martinez is a visionary leader, the most recent
in a long line of them. This new adventure into
pro sports ownership is just the latest step in Sequan's
journey from survival to self sufficiency.
Speaker 10 (12:26):
So the Kumi I have adapted and endured to the
Spanish period, the Mexican period, the American period. I could
not really say if any period was better or worse.
They were all bad. For the CUMII people. The population
dwindled significantly for a long time. Our ancestors survived out
on the outskirts of San Diego County. The economy here
(12:49):
was very depressed all the way up into the nineteen eighties,
and so really until gaming came along, which really started
with high stakes Indian bingo, that's when the employment opportunities.
That's when things started to change, and it really just
progressively grew from there. With that financial success economic success,
the tribe began to acquire more land.
Speaker 1 (13:12):
Today, Sequan is one of the largest employers in San
Diego County. Alongside that economic growth, the band's population has
recovered to three hundred and fifty tribal members, and they
fought to preserve their cultural heritage, including their oral history
(13:33):
like the traditional bird songs and gored dances you can
hear now marking the arrival of the autumn equinox and
retelling the kum Yai creation story. When you think about
what it's taken to get here, what this land means,
it's no surprise to find out that some were doubtful
(13:53):
about Cody's bid to invest in Major League Soccer.
Speaker 10 (13:58):
Land used with Native American in general and my tribe.
It's land is sacred to the American people, and so
we fought hard to be able to gain the assets
to reacquire our lands. So any repurposing or leasing or
anything just takes time for the tribe to become comfortable
with that, so I tell you the truth. Honestly, I
(14:21):
was a bit concerned that the general membership of the
tribe would not vote in favor of repurposing the land,
or at least not with significant convincing.
Speaker 1 (14:34):
Cody spent years preparing the ground for this moment. A
move into sports ownership always seemed the perfect way to
advocate for themselves while also working to benefit San Diego
County as a whole.
Speaker 4 (14:46):
We're very strong philanthropists. You may say we donate a
lot to the community, but I still feel the community
doesn't know us all too well, and I thought this
would be a great opportunity to now not only that side,
put our spiritual side, on our cultural side to San Diego.
Speaker 1 (15:05):
This is a Sequan elder tribal councilman, Jamie Lebrik, or
Uncle Jamie, as he's affectionately known by his people. The
nickname speaks to his decades of community work preserving their customs, language,
and culture, but he's also Cody's actual uncle.
Speaker 4 (15:24):
I have a lot of respect from my nephew as
a chairman, and I know he does his due diligence
and I'm pretty sure He was working on this project
for a good year to two years before he started
to feel comfortable bringing it to the people.
Speaker 1 (15:39):
Despite Cody's hard work, Uncle Jamie was one of those
who needed convincing.
Speaker 4 (15:44):
When I heard the fees the amount of the money,
I thought we could probably invest in something else. I
have ambitions to one day hopefully be able to allow
others build our own community school, larger cultural center, something
had a larger museum to teach about our creation the stories.
(16:05):
So when I heard that type of money being spent
on soccer, I felt that there was more value for
our people in investigating ourselves. So I was definitely a
no at that time.
Speaker 1 (16:17):
After all, hospitality, entertainment, golf, these are things Sekwan know
how to do, but soccer. Even Cody wasn't sure at first.
He always imagined bringing basketball back to San Diego, but
when his friend, local developer brat Termany put him in
touch with Tom Penn, things moved quickly.
Speaker 10 (16:36):
When I've attended my first MLS game at LAFC, as
soon as the pandemic restrictions lifted, I was able to
attend the game with Tom Penn, and I was amazed
at the experience not just the product on the field.
The game was entertaining, but the entire fan game experience
was just energetic and fun. And I knew that although
it might be different, San Diego could use this and
(16:59):
we could bring this to San Diego. So I said,
we've got to go to another MLS game. I dragged
some of the council up to experience for themselves and
we began to discuss it.
Speaker 1 (17:10):
Sharon Femm remembers Cody's enthusiasm as he worked to build
support for the MLS bid. He needed to get a
majority vote from the tribe to get the go ahead.
Speaker 2 (17:20):
I was there when he did the presentation. I was
also present when he was talked about a number of
years ago, I want to say, five, six, seven years ago,
when it was still just kind of a little thing
in his mind that he was trying to play around with.
So I saw how excited he was, and he gave
me a little insight here and there on some of
the trip cities taken to the different places where MLS
has been and presenting to the board.
Speaker 1 (17:43):
Cody also went on a charm offensive with MLS Commissioner
Don Garber. He wanted to make sure the league was
happy partnering with an indigenous tribe before they moved on
to Stage two. So Qwan needed a co owner, one
equally committed, but more important, someone to take the lead
on the sporting side.
Speaker 6 (18:03):
Then that's the part that Cody Martinez likes to call
speed dating with billionaires, because what happened was over time.
At one point there was a bit of time pressure.
We met with various potential partners, and as you can
well imagine, trying to get a partnership on a deal
(18:24):
of this magnitude is just tricky.
Speaker 1 (18:26):
Right, This speed dating went on for the best part
of a year, adding to the pressure. Commissioner Garber had
another candidate for team number thirty in mind, Las Vegas,
entertainment capital of the world. He even stated publicly that
they were the front runner.
Speaker 6 (18:45):
That sort of put us on the side burner for
a while, in my opinion. And while we were on
the side burner, we had a couple of little flirtations
with different potential partners that just didn't come to fruition.
But then when Las Vegas fell apart, the league all
of a sudden became much more interested and okay, could
we really make this work? Because you guys have been
persistent and consistent, and that stadium's now done. You know,
(19:08):
maybe San Diego it is time.
Speaker 1 (19:10):
In twenty twenty two, as the Las Vegas bid ran
into its own problems, a window of opportunity open for
San Diego to take advantage. They needed to find someone
to partner with Sequan quick but it had to be
the right fit.
Speaker 10 (19:26):
A number of potential partners wanted to have majority control
and wanted the Tribe to really put up an equitable
amount of money, so they were thinking more of the
tribe's involvement along a diversity equity inclusion lens, and the
tribe was adamant that if we're going to be putting
(19:47):
up a significant amount of the capital, then we wanted
a significant amount of control. And the analogy I used
was we don't have to be in the driver's seat.
I don't even have to be the passenger seat, but
you're not to put the tribe in the trunk of
the car.
Speaker 1 (20:02):
With time running out, the league wanting clarity on who
would be running the team in San Diego, and the
Sequan Council still needing convincing of the merits of the
project itself. Tom and Cody were feeling the pressure. But
just then Tom gets a phone call that'll change everything.
Speaker 6 (20:20):
And in the middle of all that, Tom Vernon called
me out of nowhere. And Tom Vernon's the founder of
Right to Dream and was the CEO of Right to Dream.
And he called and he said, hey, is it true
that you're involved in this pursuit of San Diego?
Speaker 5 (20:34):
And I said it is. Why do you ask?
Speaker 6 (20:36):
And he said, well, we've been looking at was Right
to Dream for a partnership. We want to bring Right
to Dream to America And I thought Right to Dream
that's the group that just helps the kids from Africa
go to college and some of them play in the MS.
Right He says, yeah, we're bigger than that. We own
a team in Denmark, which I didn't know, and we
have another academy and he said we were recently acquired
(20:57):
by a guy named Mohammed Mansur who is a multi
billillionaire from Egypt and he's now our chairman. And when
he said that, I go, WHOA, that's different. Really tell
me more about that?
Speaker 1 (21:22):
This well time phone call would end up sealing the
whole deal. Back in early twenty twenty three, Tompan knew
a little of Right to Dream. He knew it was
a global network of professional clubs and youth academies twenty
five years in the making. He knew that they produced
legions of talented footballers every year from their facilities in Ghana,
(21:42):
Egypt and Denmark. But he knew nothing about Right to Dreams.
New chairman Sir Mohammed Mansour a seventy seven year old
British Egyptian billionaire, businessman and philanthropist with a lifelong passion
for the beautiful game.
Speaker 11 (22:00):
I was raised in Alexandria, Egypt, back in the fifties.
I remember, you know how life was and sports was
a big, big thing at that time, and you know,
we were three brothers. We always competed. We're very competitive
as a family. Who's going to be the fastest swimmer,
Who's going to be the best striker in the football team.
(22:21):
And my mentor at that time was my uncle Mustafa
Kamel Mansour, who's like a legend in football in Egypt
because he was a goalkeeper that played actually in the
World Cup in nineteen thirty four. So football and soccer
(22:46):
is in our blood.
Speaker 1 (22:50):
When Oncle Mostafa hung up his boots, he went into coaching.
He was a role model for many, but none more
so than young Mohammed. However, and he hopes he had
of following in his uncle's footsteps were cruelly snuffed out.
Speaker 3 (23:04):
At the age of ten.
Speaker 11 (23:05):
I was struck by a car and I was, you know,
at that time, the medical profession was not what it
is today, and I you know, I had to lay
in bed for three years, so I was I was
deprived actually of the love of my life, which was
sports and having medals. But this, you know, this love
of the game. Then it grew and we continued to be,
(23:28):
you know, loving football and soccer. As a schooled in
the United States.
Speaker 1 (23:33):
With a sporting career off the table, the teenage Muhammed
would follow his father's example in business, but he never
lost that competitive drive and the will to overcome, which
is just as well. At sixteen years old, he moved
to the United States to get a college education.
Speaker 3 (23:52):
It'd be the.
Speaker 11 (23:53):
Making of him, though not in the way you'd think.
I was admitted to North Carolina State. Of course, these
were fantastic times, you know, back in the sixties. You know,
I think it started January seventh, nineteen sixty four. I
wanted to live the American dream, which I did maybe
too much.
Speaker 1 (24:12):
After nearly flunking out, Mohammed got serious about his responsibilities,
and not a moment too soon. Back in Egypt, sweeping
socialist reforms led to the government confiscating his family's wealth. Overnight,
he was penniless, so he rolled up his sleeves and
(24:33):
went to work at a local pizzeria where he was
simply mow the waiter.
Speaker 11 (24:39):
So then I had to go work in an Italian restaurant,
you know, as a waiter, which I did. And this
also made me realize the value of hard work and
money and that I had to save and life was
not as rosy, you know. The concept that I had
was when I was a young kid, that you know,
you get enough. You know, life was easy. So I
(24:59):
had to You have to work, you have to be serious,
you have to study.
Speaker 3 (25:06):
And study he did.
Speaker 1 (25:07):
He later took what he learned in the US, returned
home and helped restore his family's empire. Starting in Egypt,
the Monsour Group grew into a multi billion dollar conglomerate
employing sixty thousand people around the world across automotive, hospitality,
and construction industries. In twenty ten, they founded their UK
(25:31):
based global investment firm Man Capital, financing everything from schools
and solar farms to logistics companies and tech firms. Then,
in twenty thirteen, mister Mansour as he was known, then
returned to his childhood passion football.
Speaker 3 (25:48):
And it came quite by chance.
Speaker 1 (25:52):
It started when one of their long standing board members,
Dan Dickinson, told them about a one of a kind
youth academy he was involved with in West Africa. That
project was Right to Dream.
Speaker 12 (26:05):
My wife and my oldest son probably deserve the most credit,
but Right to Dream pride itself in this unique model
of having scholarships, providing scholarships for young boys and girls
coming in age ten to get elite football trading and
very high in academic training.
Speaker 1 (26:22):
This is what Right to Dream calls the student athlete model.
Speaker 3 (26:26):
It's what sets them apart.
Speaker 1 (26:28):
All kids that enter one of their mixed gender academies
have potential sporting potential but also academic potential. Both are
nurtured equally, and if they don't make it as a
pro player, they are pretty much guaranteed in education at
an American high school, college or European university.
Speaker 3 (26:47):
That's the Right to Dream promise, and it's some promise.
Speaker 1 (26:51):
Especially to a kid from West Africa whose parents might
only earn two dollars a day.
Speaker 3 (26:57):
Kids just like Dan's adopted son.
Speaker 12 (27:00):
One of the first generation academic Pathway student athletes, went
to a boarding school in Connecticut where he roomed next
to my oldest son and the young man, James C. Norte,
went by the name of Sea. Came from, as most
of our families our kids do, from families with not
a lot of means, and so my son Jack and
(27:22):
Sea became very good friends, and Jack brought Sea home
to Chicago for holidays and she sadly lost his mother
that first year. His dad had kind of moved on,
and he came from very limited means. So we were
very proud to welcome See into our family. And this
was about seventeen years ago, and so not having any
(27:43):
football background, not knowing anything about Right to Dream, we
had this graduate who was part of our family and
has had a hugely positive impact in our family. But
with that I got to know Tom Vernon and became
his first board member and worked with him to build
Right to Dream.
Speaker 3 (27:59):
That was back in two thousand and seven.
Speaker 1 (28:01):
Over the years, Dan helped Tom grow his programming Ghana
and beyond. In twenty thirteen, he connected Right to Dream
with the Man Sours.
Speaker 3 (28:11):
The rest is history.
Speaker 11 (28:14):
And when my Sam Lutfi went and met with Tom
Vernon and other founders, he came back and said that,
I mean, this is an amazing project. And we ended
up building I think seven or eight pitches for them
as a sponsor, and the relationship got closer with Right
to Dream, and I was so I was so impressed,
you know, with what I saw of the work that
(28:35):
had been done with young men and women and Right
to Dream to create an opportunity for them to either
be professional footballers or footballers or go the education route.
What they do to pay back to the community they're from.
I mean, this is so important, and that's what I'd
say was the major reason that we invested in Write
(28:56):
to Dream.
Speaker 1 (28:57):
In twenty twenty one, Sir Mohammed Mansour as he's now known,
after being knighted by King Charles the third of Great Britain,
purchased a majority stake in Right to Dream. They immediately
began work on expansion. First, they built an academy in
Egypt and purchased pro team FC Massar, adding to the
other professional club in their network, Danish Superliga outfit FC Norschland.
(29:22):
After that, they set their sights on a move to
the US. The problem was finding the right opportunity and
the right partners. So when they heard about San Diego,
the chance to build a club from the ground up
and the involvement of the Sequan tribe, well, they got
on the phone to Tom Penn.
Speaker 6 (29:42):
And what we came to find out was that they
had already spoken to two or three other MLS teams
about a joint investment and it always fell apart because
Right to Dream wanted to control the soccer part of it.
They wanted to control the football operation and any existing team.
Speaker 5 (29:58):
That's why the owner owns it.
Speaker 6 (29:59):
That's the fun, right In this case, Sequan had no
expertise in football operations. They didn't know how to have
ambition necessarily to run that part. So all of a
sudden you saw this, oh man, this could be a
really cool complimentary partnership.
Speaker 1 (30:19):
Cody Martinez rushed back from an MLS All Star game
for a meeting with Sir Mohammad and Lutfi Mansour. He
came away with a sense that they finally met the
perfect partners.
Speaker 10 (30:31):
When we ultimately landed with the Mansour group. Their story
is amazing, their longevity, their global presence, their business acumen,
their passion for football, but ultimately it was their ability
to sit down with the tribe and my tribal council
and see the tribe for the strength they brought to
the table.
Speaker 1 (30:56):
Back at Singing Hills, Uncle Jamie remained skeptical about the deal,
but when he took a Rank to Dream delegation to
where the proposed academy would be built, something happened that
changed Jamie's mind.
Speaker 4 (31:09):
I met Sir Mohammed Montsur and Tom Vernon at the
golf course and we got to share our culture. And
so when they arrived, I first met lex and lex
Is he is a groundskeeper going down at the Sea
Hills golf course where the Right to Dream Academy is
being built, and he goes, James, I need to talk
(31:32):
to you. Well, yes, what's up brother? He goes, I
hear songs cere morning. They sound like your birth songs.
Speaker 1 (31:44):
Groundskeeper lex is in sequent himself, but he knows they're
songs when he hears them carried on the wind from
some unknown source.
Speaker 4 (31:59):
I knew right then and there that we were safe.
I knew they were rejoicing. I knew that the ancestors
were telling me, this is a really good idea that
was going to come out of this partnership, and relationship
was going to be huge for the people that their
philosophies the Right to Dream and the Mohammed Masor's family
(32:22):
they aligned with the Kumi II.
Speaker 1 (32:24):
This promising start was soon followed by a trip to Egypt.
Sir Mohammad invited Cody, Jamie and their families to his
homeland to see the Newest Right to Dream Academy for themselves.
It was here Jamie became convinced their values matched Sir Mohammed's.
Speaker 4 (32:41):
We proceeded on to go meet in the dining room
and he was Jamie, tell me more about your culture.
And I knew that he was not just interested, but
he really wanted to know more. And I usually I'm
afraid to talk about Genniside, I'm afraid to talk about
the boarding schools. I'm afraid to talk talk about that
loss of spirituality in our straint. But I went for it,
(33:04):
and it meant a lot because I'm not used to
people embracing that.
Speaker 1 (33:12):
When they visited the Right to Dream Academy and saw
it for themselves, it was a done deal.
Speaker 4 (33:18):
I seen the kids out needed, beautiful children, and how
they were an inspiration, how they got up and spoke.
You could see that they had the utmost gratitude for
the school and how just well mannered they were.
Speaker 5 (33:33):
And these were young kids.
Speaker 4 (33:34):
They're like twelve years old, they're not that old, and
already they were representing that that nurturing, that cultivation. You know,
we're not just creating football players, but we're creating a
platform for leaders. That's when I was all in, one
hundred percent all in.
Speaker 3 (33:52):
Needless to say, the feeling was mutual.
Speaker 11 (33:56):
I've always been a good judge of character, and from
day one I felt this was a great partnership with
Cody and with other council members and members of the
Sequin tribe. It's a partnership made in heaven, as they say,
and this I think is going to be one of
the key factors of the success of the San Diego
(34:19):
Football Club.
Speaker 1 (34:20):
A few weeks later, back on the Sequan Reservation, the
tribal council passes the MLS vote with the thumping majority.
As for the view from the league, they were one
hundred percent convinced of the San Diego bid.
Speaker 3 (34:34):
How could they not be?
Speaker 1 (34:35):
Market check, stadium, check, strong ownership group, check, long term commitment.
Speaker 3 (34:41):
You better believe it.
Speaker 6 (34:43):
Sequan's only been here for twelve thousand years, they say so.
They smile at the idea of they say, we can't move.
Speaker 5 (34:53):
We're not moving.
Speaker 6 (34:54):
So if they're not moving, their teams certainly not moving.
And the mansou are in this for the long haul.
They are not a build it, flip it, sell it
sort of approach. So they're in it for the long haul.
Sequan's in it for the long haul. Complete alignment, and
there's no way we're going anywhere.
Speaker 3 (35:33):
Morning, San Diego. How are we today? Much better? Much better?
Speaker 13 (35:40):
Thank you for this beautiful sunny morning in greater San Diego.
We want to welcome you to this historic announcement inside
this beautiful snap Dragon Stadium.
Speaker 1 (35:49):
On May eighteenth, twenty twenty three, after nearly thirty years
of waiting, Major League Soccer finally arrived in San Diego.
Standing at a pitchside podium in front of excited fans
and the national sporting press. Is MLS Commissioner Don Garber,
the man behind the league's rapid expansion over the past decade, and.
Speaker 3 (36:12):
The day's finally here.
Speaker 14 (36:13):
So, ladies and gentlemen, it gives me great pleasure to
announce that the thirtieth team in Major League Soccer, the
largest professional soccer league in the world, has been granted
to the City of San Diego.
Speaker 1 (36:31):
Sitting on stage, draped in SDFC scarves and smiling from
ear to ear are Cody Martinez and Sir Mohammed Mansour.
Despite knowing little about their new owners, the congregation of
San Diego sports fans show their thanks and appreciation. It'll
take time for that relationship to grow. As for the
(36:52):
next person to speak, he needs no introduction to this audience.
Speaker 13 (36:56):
We have so many wonderful people in attendance, and we're
going to get to them. Uh Do I see Manny
Machado floating around over here, the most scrutinized left hand
in the San Diego area right now.
Speaker 1 (37:06):
The great money my child padres all star and founding
partner at SDFC.
Speaker 15 (37:12):
So you know, it's awesome to be partners with Right
of Dream and the Saquan and you know, the City
of San Diego with the MLS. So I'm excited to
continue the growth of soccer. So thank you guys again,
Thank you commissioner for bringing soccer to San Diego and
looking forward to uh, you know, hopefully bringing championship here
as well.
Speaker 13 (37:32):
Many Machado, everybody come on.
Speaker 3 (37:36):
With the crowd whipped. Tom Penn turns his attention to
the fans. What's now.
Speaker 6 (37:43):
Now we listen.
Speaker 16 (37:46):
We've been engaged in focus groups quietly, We've been listening
to what this town is, this community is all about.
Speaker 5 (37:54):
What does our club stand for?
Speaker 16 (37:55):
What should it stand for, What should our colors be,
what should our name be. We're going to go out
and listen. Beginning tonight. We're going to Chu La Vista
tonight with our street team. We're going to engage the community.
Speaker 1 (38:06):
It's time for the real work to begin building a
club that can unite San Diego. Back in early summer
twenty twenty three, the new ownership group had a little
over a year until SDFC plays its first ever game.
Speaker 3 (38:26):
There's a lot to do and not a lot of time.
So where do you start? First? They need to lay
the foundations.
Speaker 5 (38:34):
You know.
Speaker 6 (38:35):
The belief from the outside is this place is the
beach chill, SoCal vibe. And I gotta give Cody Martinez
all the credit because as we talked about the type
of club that he wanted to build, he said to me, Tom,
do me a favor. Whatever we do, do not build
a club based on what the rest of the world
(38:56):
thinks San Diego is.
Speaker 5 (38:59):
So what do you mean?
Speaker 6 (39:00):
And I thought of the beach right away, because I'm
not from here. He said, don't build it for the beach,
and don't build it just for downtown the city. He's like,
there's so much more to this place. I grew up
in El cahoone man, there's so many of us, and
this is our community. We want to build something for
the whole county. And that really informed the foundational idea
(39:21):
of what kind of club we.
Speaker 5 (39:22):
Wanted to be.
Speaker 1 (39:26):
In October twenty twenty three, they officially launched at San
Diego Football Club along with their brand new club Crest,
with eighteen individual threads representing the eighteen cities of San
Diego County, interwoven into a traditional kumeyai basket design, forming
the initials.
Speaker 3 (39:45):
SD at its heart.
Speaker 1 (39:47):
The design is set upon a background of midnight blue,
or as we say in this minon Asulu, representing the
connection to the ocean and the sky, diversity, unity, strength,
and honoring their shared land. It's a message the club
feels all San Diegans can get behind, not least because
(40:08):
they spent a long time asking them.
Speaker 6 (40:12):
So when we started this, none of us were from here,
and the first person I hired was Sebastian Marua. Seb
had been in Right to Dream for eight years, really
smart from Costa Rica, multi lingual. He decided to move
here with me early and he started doing the research
and he went into the trenches.
Speaker 8 (40:34):
My name is Custian Morue. My job title here is
Senior Vice President for brand Marketing on Community and I
worked for San Diego Football Club.
Speaker 1 (40:45):
Seb went to work running fan rallies, community engagement events,
and focus groups across the county. He soon got an
idea of what people wanted.
Speaker 8 (40:55):
I think the Right to Dream mindset when he comes
to football and a community is first and foremost recognizing
the unique local context of that community and its relationship
to the game. I can tell you that the passion
in San Diego, the passion for the game in San
Diego is unparalleled to anywhere I have been in the
(41:19):
us the typical San Diego sports fan who loves this
place first and foremost. They absolutely love their community, and
if there is a team that's representing their community, they're
going to support that team.
Speaker 1 (41:34):
He also came to understand that many local sports fans
would take longer to come around.
Speaker 3 (41:40):
They've been hurt before.
Speaker 8 (41:42):
I think given the history of sport in San Diego,
with NBA NFL teams leaving San Diego to go to
other markets, there's a little bit of a chip on
their shoulder and a little bit of a maybe mistrust
in sport and trauma in sport right in like the
collective mind of society here, it means they will question things,
(42:07):
and it means they might not immediately believe.
Speaker 1 (42:11):
The upshot of all their research was a concept they
call the Flow, the eighteen communities interwoven into one. It's
the brand centerpiece and represents their mission to bring all
of San Diego County together.
Speaker 6 (42:25):
And we went in there and we listened focus groups,
all kinds of stuff. In those that process, multiple people
use the word flow to describe San Diego.
Speaker 5 (42:37):
It it was interesting, said what do you mean by flow?
Speaker 6 (42:39):
And they were like, you know, it's just kind of
the we get cool stuff done, we get our work done,
we get in the flow state, and then there's just
the flow of life, that unique rhythm of life down here.
Speaker 1 (42:52):
Soon the new crest is pomping up all over town,
splashed on posters, filling newspaper pages and plastered over highway
built wards, it appears alongside the slogan flow with us,
as sent predicted, and despite their best efforts, not everyone
is convinced.
Speaker 3 (43:12):
Go with the flowing.
Speaker 2 (43:18):
Or like flow with me, But with us, that's what
I feel.
Speaker 10 (43:21):
The girl boards that with us, I haven't seen that.
Speaker 3 (43:23):
It's so lame to be fair.
Speaker 1 (43:26):
This guy later admitted he was in fact an La
Galaxy fan.
Speaker 3 (43:30):
His friend gets it though.
Speaker 6 (43:32):
That's what Sendi was.
Speaker 3 (43:33):
He was like, everybody gets along with everybody.
Speaker 14 (43:37):
Nobody really gets upset about nothing.
Speaker 6 (43:39):
Everybody, everybody goes with the flow.
Speaker 3 (43:42):
Very chill. It's very Seddi was very chill.
Speaker 1 (43:45):
What most can agree on is that the region is
crying out for another team to get behind.
Speaker 17 (43:51):
You have to have some personality to unite San Diego,
and ideally one of these new sports teams Senegra to
see what that personality to unite Dianego for us to
root for them, to unite the whole county as a
whole and make it unify San Diego together.
Speaker 1 (44:17):
Tom Penn couldn't agree more on the unique character of
this place and the need to bring people together.
Speaker 3 (44:23):
Even if not everyone loves the slogan.
Speaker 5 (44:26):
This place is super special.
Speaker 6 (44:29):
No place on the planet has this weather, this high
quality of life in America, this sense of purpose and place,
and then this cool flow. So San Diego is its
own thing geographically three point three million people, but then
there's two point seven more million people across the border
(44:49):
in Tijuana.
Speaker 5 (44:51):
And there's no.
Speaker 6 (44:52):
Place in America like this where you've got major metropolitan
areas jammed together with a border in between them, hundreds
of thousands of people every day crossing the border. It's awesome,
It's really amazing. You don't get it till you're down here.
Speaker 5 (45:07):
I didn't.
Speaker 1 (45:08):
I guess at the end of the day, whatever happens
on the pitch will decide what those words and images
eventually mean to the people of San Diego. One man
who's bullish about their prospects is Seb Modua.
Speaker 8 (45:22):
I think people in San Diego are going to be
shocked in the years to come with the success that's
that's going to come with this club and for the
city of San Diego. I take a step back and
I kind of do a bird's eye view of this project,
and we have got every single factor to succeed.
Speaker 1 (45:43):
Then again, SEB hasn't met San Diego's ultras yet and it's.
Speaker 3 (45:48):
His job to convince them to come out in force
next time.
Speaker 1 (45:56):
On Behind the Flow, SDFC has a matter of months
to try and fill the thirty five thousand seat snap
Dragon Stadium.
Speaker 3 (46:04):
Key to this will be creating.
Speaker 1 (46:06):
An electric matchday atmosphere, and to do that they need
to unite a splintered fan base and build a ferocious
home section filled.
Speaker 3 (46:16):
With diehard as DFC supporters. Over to you, SEB.
Speaker 1 (46:21):
Behind the Flow is a message heard production. I'm your host.
Adrian garciamaricis the series producer, is McAllister Beckson, Mark Kendrick
is the assistant producers, and Rebecca Ware is the field producer.
Jake Warren and Sandra Ferrari are the executive producers.
Speaker 3 (46:38):
James Cox and.
Speaker 1 (46:39):
Dago Diaz are the production coordinators. The sound editor is
Lizzie Andrews, and music composition is by Tom Biddle.
It's a late afternoon in mid September twenty twenty four
eastern San Diego County. A flock of sparrow swooped low,
rippling wavelike over the sun baked foothills of the Dasa Valley.
A soft breeze whistles over the red rock and through
the desert brush. It's what gave the area its name,
(00:31):
Singing Hills.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
My name is Sharon Fan. I'm a tribal member from
the Sequan Band of the Commune Nation, and we are
currently sitting on the lands of the Singing Hills Golf Course,
which is part of our tribal territory.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
For over twenty years, Singing Hills has been home to Sequan's.
Speaker 3 (00:48):
World class fifty four whole golf course.
Speaker 1 (00:52):
The drive also owns a successful casino resort, luxurious downtown hotels,
and extensive waterfront commercial property. In just a few decades,
Sequon has come back from the brink of extinction to
become a multi million dollar economic powerhouse employing nearly four
thousand people.
Speaker 3 (01:12):
It's been a long journey.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
From what I understand, it's over twelve thousand years, but
they're still I mean that can be disputed, but I
may even go far as back as fifteen thousand. We
don't know. They're still finding artifacts, they're still learning and
educating about our past. So I don't think that'll ever stop.
I'm sure they'll find more stuff in the future and
be like, oh wow, they were here even further back
than that.
Speaker 1 (01:33):
In fact, the land sharing is standing on right next
to the golf course is the site of a prehistoric
Sequan settlement. Today it's also home to the Kumeyi Community College,
as well as a beautiful museum and cultural center. It's
a place that tribal councilman Jamie Lebrik felt in his
(01:55):
bones had to be preserved even while building for the future.
Speaker 4 (02:00):
So I went down and I parked my car, and
I was there by myself, and I opened up my doors,
and right away I could fill the presence of our
ancestors telling me this is the place that you need.
Speaker 5 (02:11):
To build your cultural center. This is the.
Speaker 4 (02:14):
Place, Jamie, go inside and look, so I did. I
could feel them, I could hear them.
Speaker 1 (02:20):
And Jamie wasn't the only one. Over the years, even
non tribal members have felt it.
Speaker 4 (02:26):
Before we owned the golf course, there was a Hispanic
lady or a lady of Mexican descent who lived right
below the grade there at certain times of the year,
and she would actually see a fire burning at the
base of the mountain. No one else saw it, but
only she saw it, and she could hear those songs
(02:48):
are bird songs.
Speaker 1 (02:57):
In January twenty twenty five, this sacred patch of Siquan
Tribal Territory will also become home to the San Diego
FC first team and the Right to Dream Academy, their
ambition to become the most advanced training facility and youth
development center in North America.
Speaker 2 (03:15):
I think it's amazing. I mean, what more beautiful place
can you find to have soccer fields be out here
in the open breeze, the beautiful mountains that protect the
whole valley. It's just meant to be played on.
Speaker 1 (03:28):
At the time of writing back in September twenty twenty four,
construction is already well underway. There's just four months to
go until they welcome their first players for preseason training.
But even now, the side of steel girders and cement
mixers is enough to make Sharon feel emotional sometimes.
Speaker 2 (03:50):
You know, I get a little choked up when I
drive over the hill into the valley, and the valley
just opens up and you could see the entire golf
course and then all of a sudden unveiled is the
Right to Dream Academy buildings that are are getting finished,
which I think should be finished by February. But that
opens up and you see that, and I get taken
back and I have to have a little tier lie
sometimes because you think, wow, my tribe did this, like
(04:10):
this is incredible.
Speaker 1 (04:14):
In February twenty twenty five, San Diego e FC became
the thirtieth team to enter Major League Soccer, now the
largest professional league on the planet. But this is more
than just another football club, at least that's the hope
of the club's co owners under the leadership of Sir
Mohammed Mansour.
Speaker 3 (04:31):
Right to Dream is.
Speaker 1 (04:32):
An organization promising to rock American soccer to its foundations
with a revolutionary approach to coaching and youth development. Anchoring
the project in the local community is the Sequan Band
of the Kumiga Nation, the first ever Native American owners
in men's professional sports, and as the only MLS club
(04:53):
officially sanctioned to recruit out of Mexico. I mean this
thing could really fly. That is, it is if everything
goes to plan. In this episode, we explore an unlikely
partnership spanning eight thousand miles and twenty thousand years that
came together in the nick of time to bring MLS
(05:14):
to San Diego. Like all fans, I want to know
more about the people running this thing, the owners, Who
are they, what do they want, and most important of all,
what sort of club are they building? Captured In the
final months before the twenty twenty five season kicks off,
this series follows sdfc's race to field their first ever team.
(05:34):
I'm Adrian, gotta say, I'm Markis and this is behind
the flow, the origin story of San Diego FC. So
how exactly do you win the right to join Major
League Soccer? And who'd be willing to part with the
record breaking half a billion dollars to do it? That's
(05:59):
before you add I had one hundred and twenty million
for a new training center and youth academy, and never
mind the cost of recruiting an entire playing squad from scratch.
Speaker 3 (06:10):
Before any of.
Speaker 1 (06:11):
That, SDFC is already the sixth most expensive deal in
world football history. These guys really mean business. Just look
who their first hire was. If you're looking at launch
a soccer dynasty in record time, there's only one man
to turn to, sports executive Tom Penn.
Speaker 6 (06:29):
Oh yeah, I always said this was a once in
a career opportunity at LAFC to build a club from scratch,
And then now I joke that it's kind of what
I do. I guess it wasn't that at all. It's
just sort of circumstance.
Speaker 1 (06:41):
Penn launched LAFC in twenty seventeen and that went pretty well.
Speaker 7 (06:47):
That's it LC champions again and for the first time,
go hun us upcoming. Look boost the blocket gold for
LAFC with this kick.
Speaker 1 (07:06):
It LAS one MS Cup twenty twenty two on penalties.
Within six years, they won an MLS Cup, two Supporter Shields,
and the US Open Cup, eventually being valued as the
league's first billion dollar franchise. So it's fair to say
(07:27):
Tom knows his way around. Before soccer, he was an
NBA executive and analyst for ESPN, But before that, he
cut his teeth in the courtroom six years as a
public defender, working major jury trials and making big calls
under pressure.
Speaker 6 (07:44):
Well criminal defense attorney work is pressure packed and quick
thinking and then articulating and selling. You know, you're always
in sort of persuasive mode. There's nothing like being on trial,
having to make like snap decisions under pressure that have
consequences and you have to react to what's happening.
Speaker 1 (08:05):
In twenty twenty, Penn felt it was time to leave
LA for new pastures. When he did, he became the
hottest free agent on the sports exec market.
Speaker 6 (08:15):
After leaving LAFC. Almost immediately, I was approached by an
investment bank or friend of mine who had his eyes
on San Diego as an opportunity to do something in
professional soccer. And that was right at the same time
that the ownership in Sacramento, who had been awarded an
expansion franchise in Sacramento, they.
Speaker 3 (08:37):
Folded, and that's how this whole thing started.
Speaker 2 (08:43):
That breaking news a new major obstacle for Sacramento's Major
League Soccer tonight, and expansion deal collapses with a key
investor backing out.
Speaker 8 (08:53):
Just hours ago, Ron Berkele told the league that he's
not moving forward with the acquisition of an mL LESS
expansion team in sacrament.
Speaker 9 (09:00):
The city was awarded an expansion team in October of
twenty nineteen and had been due to begin play in
twenty twenty two. The MLS says that it'll work with
Merrier Steinberg to evaluate possible next steps for MLS and Sacramento.
Speaker 1 (09:14):
In early twenty twenty one, Sacramento unexpectedly released their franchise
rights to join MLS, freeing up the final spot for
an expended thirty team league.
Speaker 3 (09:24):
The clock is now ticking.
Speaker 6 (09:27):
The lead investor in that pulled the plug. He said,
the building's too expensive, I'm out, We're not going to
do this. So that whole thing collapsed, which opened up
an opportunity.
Speaker 3 (09:37):
A golden opportunity, one.
Speaker 1 (09:39):
That the people of San Diego had been waiting three
decades for.
Speaker 6 (09:42):
Then what the leagues look for is a combination of
the market, the stadium, and the money. And I'm thinking
to myself, san Diego's the perfect market in dire need
of another men's professional team. Soccer is massive down here,
always been known as one of the top places for
player development, for engagement with people on TV, and San
(10:05):
Diego State University was building a stadium purpose designed for soccer,
so it was like ding ding ing.
Speaker 1 (10:12):
With a soccer crazy town and the thirty five thousand
seats Snapdragon Stadium now ready to go. Tom sends as
a home run or an open goal, whatever you get
the idea. First, he connects with the guy called Brad Termany.
Speaker 6 (10:28):
And Brad is a force of nature here in town.
Speaker 5 (10:32):
He's one of our partners.
Speaker 6 (10:34):
And is a real estate developer and a really gifted
deal maker, really gifted communicator. And he said, and I
will help do the work to try to see if
we can put something together in San Diego. The next conversation,
Brad introduced us to Cody Martinez, the chairman of Sequan.
Speaker 1 (11:05):
Sequan are one of the thirteen bands of the Kumeyai Nation,
the indigenous people who once roamed in their tens of
thousands on both sides of the US Mexico border. In fact,
they were here long before there was a border at all.
We're back at Singing Hills and the Sequan Cultural Center.
(11:27):
It's September twenty twenty four, and the tribe is gathering
to celebrate the autumn equinox and the start of the
Kumeyai New Year. In the distance, under the setting sun,
the pristine fairways of the golf course are bathed in
golden light, and beyond that under the shadows cast by
cranes and excavators, the SDFC Right to Dream Academy is
(11:50):
taking shape.
Speaker 10 (11:51):
My name is Cody Martinez. I am the chairman of
the Saquan Band of the Kuma Nation. I'm very proud
of the tribe and how far we have come. The
feeling is awesome and it's surreal at times. For Sequan
to be the first tribe to have a ownership stake
in professional men's sports, It's an amazing accomplishment and I'm
(12:11):
very proud of it.
Speaker 1 (12:12):
Chairman Cody Martinez is a visionary leader, the most recent
in a long line of them. This new adventure into
pro sports ownership is just the latest step in Sequan's
journey from survival to self sufficiency.
Speaker 10 (12:26):
So the Kumi I have adapted and endured to the
Spanish period, the Mexican period, the American period. I could
not really say if any period was better or worse.
They were all bad. For the CUMII people. The population
dwindled significantly for a long time. Our ancestors survived out
on the outskirts of San Diego County. The economy here
(12:49):
was very depressed all the way up into the nineteen eighties,
and so really until gaming came along, which really started
with high stakes Indian bingo, that's when the employment opportunities.
That's when things started to change, and it really just
progressively grew from there. With that financial success economic success,
the tribe began to acquire more land.
Speaker 1 (13:12):
Today, Sequan is one of the largest employers in San
Diego County. Alongside that economic growth, the band's population has
recovered to three hundred and fifty tribal members, and they
fought to preserve their cultural heritage, including their oral history
(13:33):
like the traditional bird songs and gored dances you can
hear now marking the arrival of the autumn equinox and
retelling the kum Yai creation story. When you think about
what it's taken to get here, what this land means,
it's no surprise to find out that some were doubtful
(13:53):
about Cody's bid to invest in Major League Soccer.
Speaker 10 (13:58):
Land used with Native American in general and my tribe.
It's land is sacred to the American people, and so
we fought hard to be able to gain the assets
to reacquire our lands. So any repurposing or leasing or
anything just takes time for the tribe to become comfortable
with that, so I tell you the truth. Honestly, I
(14:21):
was a bit concerned that the general membership of the
tribe would not vote in favor of repurposing the land,
or at least not with significant convincing.
Speaker 1 (14:34):
Cody spent years preparing the ground for this moment. A
move into sports ownership always seemed the perfect way to
advocate for themselves while also working to benefit San Diego
County as a whole.
Speaker 4 (14:46):
We're very strong philanthropists. You may say we donate a
lot to the community, but I still feel the community
doesn't know us all too well, and I thought this
would be a great opportunity to now not only that side,
put our spiritual side, on our cultural side to San Diego.
Speaker 1 (15:05):
This is a Sequan elder tribal councilman, Jamie Lebrik, or
Uncle Jamie, as he's affectionately known by his people. The
nickname speaks to his decades of community work preserving their customs, language,
and culture, but he's also Cody's actual uncle.
Speaker 4 (15:24):
I have a lot of respect from my nephew as
a chairman, and I know he does his due diligence
and I'm pretty sure He was working on this project
for a good year to two years before he started
to feel comfortable bringing it to the people.
Speaker 1 (15:39):
Despite Cody's hard work, Uncle Jamie was one of those
who needed convincing.
Speaker 4 (15:44):
When I heard the fees the amount of the money,
I thought we could probably invest in something else. I
have ambitions to one day hopefully be able to allow
others build our own community school, larger cultural center, something
had a larger museum to teach about our creation the stories.
(16:05):
So when I heard that type of money being spent
on soccer, I felt that there was more value for
our people in investigating ourselves. So I was definitely a
no at that time.
Speaker 1 (16:17):
After all, hospitality, entertainment, golf, these are things Sekwan know
how to do, but soccer. Even Cody wasn't sure at first.
He always imagined bringing basketball back to San Diego, but
when his friend, local developer brat Termany put him in
touch with Tom Penn, things moved quickly.
Speaker 10 (16:36):
When I've attended my first MLS game at LAFC, as
soon as the pandemic restrictions lifted, I was able to
attend the game with Tom Penn, and I was amazed
at the experience not just the product on the field.
The game was entertaining, but the entire fan game experience
was just energetic and fun. And I knew that although
it might be different, San Diego could use this and
(16:59):
we could bring this to San Diego. So I said,
we've got to go to another MLS game. I dragged
some of the council up to experience for themselves and
we began to discuss it.
Speaker 1 (17:10):
Sharon Femm remembers Cody's enthusiasm as he worked to build
support for the MLS bid. He needed to get a
majority vote from the tribe to get the go ahead.
Speaker 2 (17:20):
I was there when he did the presentation. I was
also present when he was talked about a number of
years ago, I want to say, five, six, seven years ago,
when it was still just kind of a little thing
in his mind that he was trying to play around with.
So I saw how excited he was, and he gave
me a little insight here and there on some of
the trip cities taken to the different places where MLS
has been and presenting to the board.
Speaker 1 (17:43):
Cody also went on a charm offensive with MLS Commissioner
Don Garber. He wanted to make sure the league was
happy partnering with an indigenous tribe before they moved on
to Stage two. So Qwan needed a co owner, one
equally committed, but more important, someone to take the lead
on the sporting side.
Speaker 6 (18:03):
Then that's the part that Cody Martinez likes to call
speed dating with billionaires, because what happened was over time.
At one point there was a bit of time pressure.
We met with various potential partners, and as you can
well imagine, trying to get a partnership on a deal
(18:24):
of this magnitude is just tricky.
Speaker 1 (18:26):
Right, This speed dating went on for the best part
of a year, adding to the pressure. Commissioner Garber had
another candidate for team number thirty in mind, Las Vegas,
entertainment capital of the world. He even stated publicly that
they were the front runner.
Speaker 6 (18:45):
That sort of put us on the side burner for
a while, in my opinion. And while we were on
the side burner, we had a couple of little flirtations
with different potential partners that just didn't come to fruition.
But then when Las Vegas fell apart, the league all
of a sudden became much more interested and okay, could
we really make this work? Because you guys have been
persistent and consistent, and that stadium's now done. You know,
(19:08):
maybe San Diego it is time.
Speaker 1 (19:10):
In twenty twenty two, as the Las Vegas bid ran
into its own problems, a window of opportunity open for
San Diego to take advantage. They needed to find someone
to partner with Sequan quick but it had to be
the right fit.
Speaker 10 (19:26):
A number of potential partners wanted to have majority control
and wanted the Tribe to really put up an equitable
amount of money, so they were thinking more of the
tribe's involvement along a diversity equity inclusion lens, and the
tribe was adamant that if we're going to be putting
(19:47):
up a significant amount of the capital, then we wanted
a significant amount of control. And the analogy I used
was we don't have to be in the driver's seat.
I don't even have to be the passenger seat, but
you're not to put the tribe in the trunk of
the car.
Speaker 1 (20:02):
With time running out, the league wanting clarity on who
would be running the team in San Diego, and the
Sequan Council still needing convincing of the merits of the
project itself. Tom and Cody were feeling the pressure. But
just then Tom gets a phone call that'll change everything.
Speaker 6 (20:20):
And in the middle of all that, Tom Vernon called
me out of nowhere. And Tom Vernon's the founder of
Right to Dream and was the CEO of Right to Dream.
And he called and he said, hey, is it true
that you're involved in this pursuit of San Diego?
Speaker 5 (20:34):
And I said it is. Why do you ask?
Speaker 6 (20:36):
And he said, well, we've been looking at was Right
to Dream for a partnership. We want to bring Right
to Dream to America And I thought Right to Dream
that's the group that just helps the kids from Africa
go to college and some of them play in the MS.
Right He says, yeah, we're bigger than that. We own
a team in Denmark, which I didn't know, and we
have another academy and he said we were recently acquired
(20:57):
by a guy named Mohammed Mansur who is a multi
billillionaire from Egypt and he's now our chairman. And when
he said that, I go, WHOA, that's different. Really tell
me more about that?
Speaker 1 (21:22):
This well time phone call would end up sealing the
whole deal. Back in early twenty twenty three, Tompan knew
a little of Right to Dream. He knew it was
a global network of professional clubs and youth academies twenty
five years in the making. He knew that they produced
legions of talented footballers every year from their facilities in Ghana,
(21:42):
Egypt and Denmark. But he knew nothing about Right to Dreams.
New chairman Sir Mohammed Mansour a seventy seven year old
British Egyptian billionaire, businessman and philanthropist with a lifelong passion
for the beautiful game.
Speaker 11 (22:00):
I was raised in Alexandria, Egypt, back in the fifties.
I remember, you know how life was and sports was
a big, big thing at that time, and you know,
we were three brothers. We always competed. We're very competitive
as a family. Who's going to be the fastest swimmer,
Who's going to be the best striker in the football team.
(22:21):
And my mentor at that time was my uncle Mustafa
Kamel Mansour, who's like a legend in football in Egypt
because he was a goalkeeper that played actually in the
World Cup in nineteen thirty four. So football and soccer
(22:46):
is in our blood.
Speaker 1 (22:50):
When Oncle Mostafa hung up his boots, he went into coaching.
He was a role model for many, but none more
so than young Mohammed. However, and he hopes he had
of following in his uncle's footsteps were cruelly snuffed out.
Speaker 3 (23:04):
At the age of ten.
Speaker 11 (23:05):
I was struck by a car and I was, you know,
at that time, the medical profession was not what it
is today, and I you know, I had to lay
in bed for three years, so I was I was
deprived actually of the love of my life, which was
sports and having medals. But this, you know, this love
of the game. Then it grew and we continued to be,
(23:28):
you know, loving football and soccer. As a schooled in
the United States.
Speaker 1 (23:33):
With a sporting career off the table, the teenage Muhammed
would follow his father's example in business, but he never
lost that competitive drive and the will to overcome, which
is just as well. At sixteen years old, he moved
to the United States to get a college education.
Speaker 3 (23:52):
It'd be the.
Speaker 11 (23:53):
Making of him, though not in the way you'd think.
I was admitted to North Carolina State. Of course, these
were fantastic times, you know, back in the sixties. You know,
I think it started January seventh, nineteen sixty four. I
wanted to live the American dream, which I did maybe
too much.
Speaker 1 (24:12):
After nearly flunking out, Mohammed got serious about his responsibilities,
and not a moment too soon. Back in Egypt, sweeping
socialist reforms led to the government confiscating his family's wealth. Overnight,
he was penniless, so he rolled up his sleeves and
(24:33):
went to work at a local pizzeria where he was
simply mow the waiter.
Speaker 11 (24:39):
So then I had to go work in an Italian restaurant,
you know, as a waiter, which I did. And this
also made me realize the value of hard work and
money and that I had to save and life was
not as rosy, you know. The concept that I had
was when I was a young kid, that you know,
you get enough. You know, life was easy. So I
(24:59):
had to You have to work, you have to be serious,
you have to study.
Speaker 3 (25:06):
And study he did.
Speaker 1 (25:07):
He later took what he learned in the US, returned
home and helped restore his family's empire. Starting in Egypt,
the Monsour Group grew into a multi billion dollar conglomerate
employing sixty thousand people around the world across automotive, hospitality,
and construction industries. In twenty ten, they founded their UK
(25:31):
based global investment firm Man Capital, financing everything from schools
and solar farms to logistics companies and tech firms. Then,
in twenty thirteen, mister Mansour as he was known, then
returned to his childhood passion football.
Speaker 3 (25:48):
And it came quite by chance.
Speaker 1 (25:52):
It started when one of their long standing board members,
Dan Dickinson, told them about a one of a kind
youth academy he was involved with in West Africa. That
project was Right to Dream.
Speaker 12 (26:05):
My wife and my oldest son probably deserve the most credit,
but Right to Dream pride itself in this unique model
of having scholarships, providing scholarships for young boys and girls
coming in age ten to get elite football trading and
very high in academic training.
Speaker 1 (26:22):
This is what Right to Dream calls the student athlete model.
Speaker 3 (26:26):
It's what sets them apart.
Speaker 1 (26:28):
All kids that enter one of their mixed gender academies
have potential sporting potential but also academic potential. Both are
nurtured equally, and if they don't make it as a
pro player, they are pretty much guaranteed in education at
an American high school, college or European university.
Speaker 3 (26:47):
That's the Right to Dream promise, and it's some promise.
Speaker 1 (26:51):
Especially to a kid from West Africa whose parents might
only earn two dollars a day.
Speaker 3 (26:57):
Kids just like Dan's adopted son.
Speaker 12 (27:00):
One of the first generation academic Pathway student athletes, went
to a boarding school in Connecticut where he roomed next
to my oldest son and the young man, James C. Norte,
went by the name of Sea. Came from, as most
of our families our kids do, from families with not
a lot of means, and so my son Jack and
(27:22):
Sea became very good friends, and Jack brought Sea home
to Chicago for holidays and she sadly lost his mother
that first year. His dad had kind of moved on,
and he came from very limited means. So we were
very proud to welcome See into our family. And this
was about seventeen years ago, and so not having any
(27:43):
football background, not knowing anything about Right to Dream, we
had this graduate who was part of our family and
has had a hugely positive impact in our family. But
with that I got to know Tom Vernon and became
his first board member and worked with him to build
Right to Dream.
Speaker 3 (27:59):
That was back in two thousand and seven.
Speaker 1 (28:01):
Over the years, Dan helped Tom grow his programming Ghana
and beyond. In twenty thirteen, he connected Right to Dream
with the Man Sours.
Speaker 3 (28:11):
The rest is history.
Speaker 11 (28:14):
And when my Sam Lutfi went and met with Tom
Vernon and other founders, he came back and said that,
I mean, this is an amazing project. And we ended
up building I think seven or eight pitches for them
as a sponsor, and the relationship got closer with Right
to Dream, and I was so I was so impressed,
you know, with what I saw of the work that
(28:35):
had been done with young men and women and Right
to Dream to create an opportunity for them to either
be professional footballers or footballers or go the education route.
What they do to pay back to the community they're from.
I mean, this is so important, and that's what I'd
say was the major reason that we invested in Write
(28:56):
to Dream.
Speaker 1 (28:57):
In twenty twenty one, Sir Mohammed Mansour as he's now known,
after being knighted by King Charles the third of Great Britain,
purchased a majority stake in Right to Dream. They immediately
began work on expansion. First, they built an academy in
Egypt and purchased pro team FC Massar, adding to the
other professional club in their network, Danish Superliga outfit FC Norschland.
(29:22):
After that, they set their sights on a move to
the US. The problem was finding the right opportunity and
the right partners. So when they heard about San Diego,
the chance to build a club from the ground up
and the involvement of the Sequan tribe, well, they got
on the phone to Tom Penn.
Speaker 6 (29:42):
And what we came to find out was that they
had already spoken to two or three other MLS teams
about a joint investment and it always fell apart because
Right to Dream wanted to control the soccer part of it.
They wanted to control the football operation and any existing team.
Speaker 5 (29:58):
That's why the owner owns it.
Speaker 6 (29:59):
That's the fun, right In this case, Sequan had no
expertise in football operations. They didn't know how to have
ambition necessarily to run that part. So all of a
sudden you saw this, oh man, this could be a
really cool complimentary partnership.
Speaker 1 (30:19):
Cody Martinez rushed back from an MLS All Star game
for a meeting with Sir Mohammad and Lutfi Mansour. He
came away with a sense that they finally met the
perfect partners.
Speaker 10 (30:31):
When we ultimately landed with the Mansour group. Their story
is amazing, their longevity, their global presence, their business acumen,
their passion for football, but ultimately it was their ability
to sit down with the tribe and my tribal council
and see the tribe for the strength they brought to
the table.
Speaker 1 (30:56):
Back at Singing Hills, Uncle Jamie remained skeptical about the deal,
but when he took a Rank to Dream delegation to
where the proposed academy would be built, something happened that
changed Jamie's mind.
Speaker 4 (31:09):
I met Sir Mohammed Montsur and Tom Vernon at the
golf course and we got to share our culture. And
so when they arrived, I first met lex and lex
Is he is a groundskeeper going down at the Sea
Hills golf course where the Right to Dream Academy is
being built, and he goes, James, I need to talk
(31:32):
to you. Well, yes, what's up brother? He goes, I
hear songs cere morning. They sound like your birth songs.
Speaker 1 (31:44):
Groundskeeper lex is in sequent himself, but he knows they're
songs when he hears them carried on the wind from
some unknown source.
Speaker 4 (31:59):
I knew right then and there that we were safe.
I knew they were rejoicing. I knew that the ancestors
were telling me, this is a really good idea that
was going to come out of this partnership, and relationship
was going to be huge for the people that their
philosophies the Right to Dream and the Mohammed Masor's family
(32:22):
they aligned with the Kumi II.
Speaker 1 (32:24):
This promising start was soon followed by a trip to Egypt.
Sir Mohammad invited Cody, Jamie and their families to his
homeland to see the Newest Right to Dream Academy for themselves.
It was here Jamie became convinced their values matched Sir Mohammed's.
Speaker 4 (32:41):
We proceeded on to go meet in the dining room
and he was Jamie, tell me more about your culture.
And I knew that he was not just interested, but
he really wanted to know more. And I usually I'm
afraid to talk about Genniside, I'm afraid to talk about
the boarding schools. I'm afraid to talk talk about that
loss of spirituality in our straint. But I went for it,
(33:04):
and it meant a lot because I'm not used to
people embracing that.
Speaker 1 (33:12):
When they visited the Right to Dream Academy and saw
it for themselves, it was a done deal.
Speaker 4 (33:18):
I seen the kids out needed, beautiful children, and how
they were an inspiration, how they got up and spoke.
You could see that they had the utmost gratitude for
the school and how just well mannered they were.
Speaker 5 (33:33):
And these were young kids.
Speaker 4 (33:34):
They're like twelve years old, they're not that old, and
already they were representing that that nurturing, that cultivation. You know,
we're not just creating football players, but we're creating a
platform for leaders. That's when I was all in, one
hundred percent all in.
Speaker 3 (33:52):
Needless to say, the feeling was mutual.
Speaker 11 (33:56):
I've always been a good judge of character, and from
day one I felt this was a great partnership with
Cody and with other council members and members of the
Sequin tribe. It's a partnership made in heaven, as they say,
and this I think is going to be one of
the key factors of the success of the San Diego
(34:19):
Football Club.
Speaker 1 (34:20):
A few weeks later, back on the Sequan Reservation, the
tribal council passes the MLS vote with the thumping majority.
As for the view from the league, they were one
hundred percent convinced of the San Diego bid.
Speaker 3 (34:34):
How could they not be?
Speaker 1 (34:35):
Market check, stadium, check, strong ownership group, check, long term commitment.
Speaker 3 (34:41):
You better believe it.
Speaker 6 (34:43):
Sequan's only been here for twelve thousand years, they say so.
They smile at the idea of they say, we can't move.
Speaker 5 (34:53):
We're not moving.
Speaker 6 (34:54):
So if they're not moving, their teams certainly not moving.
And the mansou are in this for the long haul.
They are not a build it, flip it, sell it
sort of approach. So they're in it for the long haul.
Sequan's in it for the long haul. Complete alignment, and
there's no way we're going anywhere.
Speaker 3 (35:33):
Morning, San Diego. How are we today? Much better? Much better?
Speaker 13 (35:40):
Thank you for this beautiful sunny morning in greater San Diego.
We want to welcome you to this historic announcement inside
this beautiful snap Dragon Stadium.
Speaker 1 (35:49):
On May eighteenth, twenty twenty three, after nearly thirty years
of waiting, Major League Soccer finally arrived in San Diego.
Standing at a pitchside podium in front of excited fans
and the national sporting press. Is MLS Commissioner Don Garber,
the man behind the league's rapid expansion over the past decade, and.
Speaker 3 (36:12):
The day's finally here.
Speaker 14 (36:13):
So, ladies and gentlemen, it gives me great pleasure to
announce that the thirtieth team in Major League Soccer, the
largest professional soccer league in the world, has been granted
to the City of San Diego.
Speaker 1 (36:31):
Sitting on stage, draped in SDFC scarves and smiling from
ear to ear are Cody Martinez and Sir Mohammed Mansour.
Despite knowing little about their new owners, the congregation of
San Diego sports fans show their thanks and appreciation. It'll
take time for that relationship to grow. As for the
(36:52):
next person to speak, he needs no introduction to this audience.
Speaker 13 (36:56):
We have so many wonderful people in attendance, and we're
going to get to them. Uh Do I see Manny
Machado floating around over here, the most scrutinized left hand
in the San Diego area right now.
Speaker 1 (37:06):
The great money my child padres all star and founding
partner at SDFC.
Speaker 15 (37:12):
So you know, it's awesome to be partners with Right
of Dream and the Saquan and you know, the City
of San Diego with the MLS. So I'm excited to
continue the growth of soccer. So thank you guys again,
Thank you commissioner for bringing soccer to San Diego and
looking forward to uh, you know, hopefully bringing championship here
as well.
Speaker 13 (37:32):
Many Machado, everybody come on.
Speaker 3 (37:36):
With the crowd whipped. Tom Penn turns his attention to
the fans. What's now.
Speaker 6 (37:43):
Now we listen.
Speaker 16 (37:46):
We've been engaged in focus groups quietly, We've been listening
to what this town is, this community is all about.
Speaker 5 (37:54):
What does our club stand for?
Speaker 16 (37:55):
What should it stand for, What should our colors be,
what should our name be. We're going to go out
and listen. Beginning tonight. We're going to Chu La Vista
tonight with our street team. We're going to engage the community.
Speaker 1 (38:06):
It's time for the real work to begin building a
club that can unite San Diego. Back in early summer
twenty twenty three, the new ownership group had a little
over a year until SDFC plays its first ever game.
Speaker 3 (38:26):
There's a lot to do and not a lot of time.
So where do you start? First? They need to lay
the foundations.
Speaker 5 (38:34):
You know.
Speaker 6 (38:35):
The belief from the outside is this place is the
beach chill, SoCal vibe. And I gotta give Cody Martinez
all the credit because as we talked about the type
of club that he wanted to build, he said to me, Tom,
do me a favor. Whatever we do, do not build
a club based on what the rest of the world
(38:56):
thinks San Diego is.
Speaker 5 (38:59):
So what do you mean?
Speaker 6 (39:00):
And I thought of the beach right away, because I'm
not from here. He said, don't build it for the beach,
and don't build it just for downtown the city. He's like,
there's so much more to this place. I grew up
in El cahoone man, there's so many of us, and
this is our community. We want to build something for
the whole county. And that really informed the foundational idea
(39:21):
of what kind of club we.
Speaker 5 (39:22):
Wanted to be.
Speaker 1 (39:26):
In October twenty twenty three, they officially launched at San
Diego Football Club along with their brand new club Crest,
with eighteen individual threads representing the eighteen cities of San
Diego County, interwoven into a traditional kumeyai basket design, forming
the initials.
Speaker 3 (39:45):
SD at its heart.
Speaker 1 (39:47):
The design is set upon a background of midnight blue,
or as we say in this minon Asulu, representing the
connection to the ocean and the sky, diversity, unity, strength,
and honoring their shared land. It's a message the club
feels all San Diegans can get behind, not least because
(40:08):
they spent a long time asking them.
Speaker 6 (40:12):
So when we started this, none of us were from here,
and the first person I hired was Sebastian Marua. Seb
had been in Right to Dream for eight years, really
smart from Costa Rica, multi lingual. He decided to move
here with me early and he started doing the research
and he went into the trenches.
Speaker 8 (40:34):
My name is Custian Morue. My job title here is
Senior Vice President for brand Marketing on Community and I
worked for San Diego Football Club.
Speaker 1 (40:45):
Seb went to work running fan rallies, community engagement events,
and focus groups across the county. He soon got an
idea of what people wanted.
Speaker 8 (40:55):
I think the Right to Dream mindset when he comes
to football and a community is first and foremost recognizing
the unique local context of that community and its relationship
to the game. I can tell you that the passion
in San Diego, the passion for the game in San
Diego is unparalleled to anywhere I have been in the
(41:19):
us the typical San Diego sports fan who loves this
place first and foremost. They absolutely love their community, and
if there is a team that's representing their community, they're
going to support that team.
Speaker 1 (41:34):
He also came to understand that many local sports fans
would take longer to come around.
Speaker 3 (41:40):
They've been hurt before.
Speaker 8 (41:42):
I think given the history of sport in San Diego,
with NBA NFL teams leaving San Diego to go to
other markets, there's a little bit of a chip on
their shoulder and a little bit of a maybe mistrust
in sport and trauma in sport right in like the
collective mind of society here, it means they will question things,
(42:07):
and it means they might not immediately believe.
Speaker 1 (42:11):
The upshot of all their research was a concept they
call the Flow, the eighteen communities interwoven into one. It's
the brand centerpiece and represents their mission to bring all
of San Diego County together.
Speaker 6 (42:25):
And we went in there and we listened focus groups,
all kinds of stuff. In those that process, multiple people
use the word flow to describe San Diego.
Speaker 5 (42:37):
It it was interesting, said what do you mean by flow?
Speaker 6 (42:39):
And they were like, you know, it's just kind of
the we get cool stuff done, we get our work done,
we get in the flow state, and then there's just
the flow of life, that unique rhythm of life down here.
Speaker 1 (42:52):
Soon the new crest is pomping up all over town,
splashed on posters, filling newspaper pages and plastered over highway
built wards, it appears alongside the slogan flow with us,
as sent predicted, and despite their best efforts, not everyone
is convinced.
Speaker 3 (43:12):
Go with the flowing.
Speaker 2 (43:18):
Or like flow with me, But with us, that's what
I feel.
Speaker 10 (43:21):
The girl boards that with us, I haven't seen that.
Speaker 3 (43:23):
It's so lame to be fair.
Speaker 1 (43:26):
This guy later admitted he was in fact an La
Galaxy fan.
Speaker 3 (43:30):
His friend gets it though.
Speaker 6 (43:32):
That's what Sendi was.
Speaker 3 (43:33):
He was like, everybody gets along with everybody.
Speaker 14 (43:37):
Nobody really gets upset about nothing.
Speaker 6 (43:39):
Everybody, everybody goes with the flow.
Speaker 3 (43:42):
Very chill. It's very Seddi was very chill.
Speaker 1 (43:45):
What most can agree on is that the region is
crying out for another team to get behind.
Speaker 17 (43:51):
You have to have some personality to unite San Diego,
and ideally one of these new sports teams Senegra to
see what that personality to unite Dianego for us to
root for them, to unite the whole county as a
whole and make it unify San Diego together.
Speaker 1 (44:17):
Tom Penn couldn't agree more on the unique character of
this place and the need to bring people together.
Speaker 3 (44:23):
Even if not everyone loves the slogan.
Speaker 5 (44:26):
This place is super special.
Speaker 6 (44:29):
No place on the planet has this weather, this high
quality of life in America, this sense of purpose and place,
and then this cool flow. So San Diego is its
own thing geographically three point three million people, but then
there's two point seven more million people across the border
(44:49):
in Tijuana.
Speaker 5 (44:51):
And there's no.
Speaker 6 (44:52):
Place in America like this where you've got major metropolitan
areas jammed together with a border in between them, hundreds
of thousands of people every day crossing the border. It's awesome,
It's really amazing. You don't get it till you're down here.
Speaker 5 (45:07):
I didn't.
Speaker 1 (45:08):
I guess at the end of the day, whatever happens
on the pitch will decide what those words and images
eventually mean to the people of San Diego. One man
who's bullish about their prospects is Seb Modua.
Speaker 8 (45:22):
I think people in San Diego are going to be
shocked in the years to come with the success that's
that's going to come with this club and for the
city of San Diego. I take a step back and
I kind of do a bird's eye view of this project,
and we have got every single factor to succeed.
Speaker 1 (45:43):
Then again, SEB hasn't met San Diego's ultras yet and it's.
Speaker 3 (45:48):
His job to convince them to come out in force
next time.
Speaker 1 (45:56):
On Behind the Flow, SDFC has a matter of months
to try and fill the thirty five thousand seat snap
Dragon Stadium.
Speaker 3 (46:04):
Key to this will be creating.
Speaker 1 (46:06):
An electric matchday atmosphere, and to do that they need
to unite a splintered fan base and build a ferocious
home section filled.
Speaker 3 (46:16):
With diehard as DFC supporters. Over to you, SEB.
Speaker 1 (46:21):
Behind the Flow is a message heard production. I'm your host.
Adrian garciamaricis the series producer, is McAllister Beckson, Mark Kendrick
is the assistant producers, and Rebecca Ware is the field producer.
Jake Warren and Sandra Ferrari are the executive producers.
Speaker 3 (46:38):
James Cox and.
Speaker 1 (46:39):
Dago Diaz are the production coordinators. The sound editor is
Lizzie Andrews, and music composition is by Tom Biddle.
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